Oklahoma City Thunder

vs

New York Knicks

Preview

The story so far

The Knicks are third in the Atlantic division and only 1 game back from the playoffs in the East. The Knicks are also one of the better road teams in the East they are 9-10 on the road. The Thunder meanwhile are 10-8 on the road and at home. The Thunder are a half game and tiebreakers up in the west conference playoff race. After tonight's game against the Thunder the Knicks go to Philly before playing Toronto and Detroit twice. The Thunder play their next game against the Spurs before heading to Dallas. Those two games will go a long way to determining how good the Thunder are right now. But win tonight and the Thunder head into the Spurs game with a little momentum.

The Matchups

Chris Duhon v Russell Westbrook

Duhon averages less than 2 turnovers a game, while dishing out about 6 assists per game. Duhon is usually not very active on the glass either offensive or defensive. Westbrook took a step back in the assist department in the last game but made up for it with an 8-16 shooting night. He also added 9 rebounds. Westbrook has 15 turnovers in the last 5 games which is still below his season average but not what the Thunder fans have gotten used to expecting the past couple of weeks. Tonight's matchup is a close one Duhon will take better care of the ball but Westbrooks athletic plays and rebounding give the Thunder an edge.

Edge

Wilson Chandler v Thabo Sefolosha

Chandler is more of a small forward than actual shooting guard. Chandler is a decent rebounder and good option scoring but doesn't shoot much from three. Sefolosha has played some tough defense in the past couple of games, he continues to be the go to guy for the Thunder defensively. His shooting woes continue however. Sefolosha is 2-10 in his last two games and 1-9 from three in his last five. The Knicks have a very balanced offense between Lee, Robinson, Gallinari, and Chandler everyone gets shots. Sefolosha's defense may take Chandler out of the game but the Knicks can survive the lack of one scoring option.  

Edge Push

Danilo Gallinari v Kevin Durant

Gallinari is a very efficient scorer, He shoots .408 from three and gets to the line pretty well. But KD is in a class of his own. In the last game against the Pacers Durant put up 40 points on 18 shots, that's over 2 points per shot. That kind of efficiency is special. Add in 12 rebounds, 3 assists and only 2 turnovers and that was a great all around effort from one of the best in the NBA.

Edge

Al Harrington v Jeff Green

Harrington has been out the past two games but early indicators are he will play. If he doesn't the Knicks will likely get Jefferies off the bench again. Harrington has been solid this season and has a nice power game down low. Tonight Green should be able to drive around Harrington or Jefferies either one. The problem with Green driving to the basket is despite the fact that he gets contact and is frequently fouled he doesn't get the respect from the refs to get to the line. Harrington will be able to back Green down in the low post but if Green is able to match his scoring it will be a net win for the Thunder.

Edge

David Lee v Nenad Krstic

David Lee the double double machine everyone was so hyped about picking up has 19 double doubles on the season. Lee is a lot like another undersized center that gets a lot of rebounds, Nick Collison. Although Collison never really got the minutes and shots Lee has with the Knicks, he still has the rebounding chops to be compared to Lee. Krstic will have had lots of experience practicing against Collison which can only help him in tonights game. Krstic is returning to form offensively in the last five he is shooting over 50% and averaging 4 rebounds.

Edge

Bench v Bench

The little engine that could is out of the dog house for now. Robinson has been streaky since coming back into the fold. After the 41 point outburst against the Hawks he posted two games of 10 or less before going for 20 against Houston. Jonathan Bender is the other member of the Knicks to get significant minutes on a regular basis.

After singlehandedly saving the Thunder against Utah Collison has had a couple of relatively quiet games. Tonight against the similarly undersized David Lee Collison could see extended minutes. Harden stepped up against the Pacers and hit 3-4 from three and added 3 assists to only one turnover. Maynor only had 2 assists but did not turn the ball over in 12 minutes. Maynor missed all three shots he took but has been solid on defense and taken care of the ball. Ibaka only played 5 minutes in the win against Indiana. He got a rebound and hit the only shot he took, a short putback that also resulted in his only rebound of the game. It remains to be seen if Mullens will continue to play and limit Ibaka's minutes. 

Edge

Efficiency

The Prediction

The Knicks got off to a slow start but in the last 11 are 7-4, despite the better record the wins for the most part have come against lower tier teams. The best win in the Knicks current streak is an overtime win over Atlanta. Whoever plays a little defense will stand a good chance of winning this game. The Thunder at home should be able to at least scrape up a modicum of defense at key times to seal a Thunder win. The Knicks should be able to keep it close and will definitely be able to go on a run if the Thunder let them hang around.

Thunder win 108-99

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